Remember When,,,?
by Aquailita
Summary: Post Evil Council 5. Marik and Bakura are no longer together. Bakura is now in Dartz's Evil Council of Domination. But they miss each other. Bakura regrets switching councils and Marik regrets letting him leave. One day, at an open-mic bar, they tell each other this in the form of a parody of the song "Remember When (Push Rewind)" by Chris Wallace. Abridged thiefshipping songfic.
1. Two Tattoos

Summary: Post Evil Council 5. Marik and Bakura are no longer (living) together. Bakura is now a part of Dartz's Evil Council of Domination. Marik is now running his Evil Council Of Doom alone. But they miss each other. Bakura regrets switching councils and Marik regrets letting him leave. One day, at an open-mic bar, they tell each other this in the form of a parody of the song "Remember When (Push Rewind)" by Chris Wallace. But one of them doesn't believe the other's half of the lyrics. Abridged Thiefshipping Songfic.

Characters: Marik Ishtar & Yami Bakura

Rating: T

Genre: Romance & Parody

* * *

**Hello! This is based on an AMV I made for thiefshipping post-Evil Council 5 using the song "Remember When (Push Rewind)" by Chris Wallace. The lyrics in this are parodies of that song. As I was making the video (which can be found on my YouTube channel, the link for which is on my profile), I thought of the parody lyrics for the song, then I thought of an alternate version for if the parts were reversed, then I thought of them singing both versions to each other, then I thought of THIS!**

**EDIT: ****Omg this is so OOOOLLLLDDDD. It has been sitting in my documents for ages, MONTHS!, unfinished and collecting dust. Only today (9/28/13) have I touched it again and decided to put up chapter 1. I'm only putting up chapter 1 for the sake of letting you know this fanfic exists, and also to get it done and be the first one to do this. (Technically, I'm not the first. DigimonIsBetterThanPokemon51 is, but I'm the first to THINK of it, and she actually did that story dedicated to ME, anyway.)**

**Abridged. Thiefshipping. Evil Council 5. I don't even know what to say anymore. Just read and review and enjoy and have fun. Oh and BAKURA COME BACK PLEASE \(O~O)/ PLEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSSEEEEEE?!**

_I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series, the song "Remember When (Push Rewind)", or any of the characters/trademarks in those._

**R&R**

**ENJOY~!**

* * *

Marik turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. He couldn't help but stop and admire his gorgeously sexy bottom in the full length bathroom mirror.

He smiled, knowing that no one else in the world had an ass like that.

Then his smile faded as his gaze focused in on a single word tattooed on his right butt cheek:

THIEF

All that was missing was the word "SHIPPING" after it.

He sighed and turned away from the mirror, reached for his towel, and started drying hisself.

_**~.~**_

After he had gotten dressed and left the bathroom, he started to pack for his trip. He would be leaving tomorrow afternoon. He should have started packing earlier that week, but he had been putting if off. He was so used to someone else being there when he packed... But that someone else wasn't there now. That someone else had walked out on him because of the very thing he was packing for...

The Evil Council Of Doom.

He tried to start packing, but after a minute he couldn't take it anymore and just gave it up.

"Ugh! This is frigging impossible! Frig this! Not doing this anymore."

Marik threw himself on his bed and closed his eyes. "Melvin, feel free to pack for me. I give up." As he said this, he gradually started loosing consciousness...

* * *

**_Meanwhile, thousands of miles away..._**

* * *

Bakura leaned against the wall while the room's other occupant packed.

He would do it himself but... He couldn't. He literally couldn't. Every time he tried to do it himself he would just move slower and slower until he stood still and ended up staring at nothing, his mind and eyes blank.

So, he was forcing Ryou to pack his stuff for his trip to Dartz's Evil Council of Domination. Or as Dartz called it, "Da Cownsel of da Oricalcalmalos".

"I still don't understand why you don't do it yourself."

Without turning to look at him, Bakura replied, "Because I force you to do it. Now get back to work, host."

Ryou pouted at him but continued packing.

He turned to his hikari, who was, with much hesitancy, carefully placing one of his knives into the suitcase. Then his gaze lowered, until he was staring at the left pocket of Ryou's jeans. Or more specifically, at the spot where directly underneath was a word tattooed beautifully on the skin of Ryou's sensitive little bottom:

SHIPPING

All that was missing was the word "THIEF" before it.

"I'll be in my soul room," he suddenly announced. "If you aren't done packing or if you pack anything wrong by the time I come back out, your torture will last twice as long tonight."

Ryou's lip trembled, but he nodded. "Yes, spirit."

Bakura faded into their soul hallway and locked himself in his soul room.

* * *

**SO FINALLY THIS SHORT CHAPTER IS DONE AFTER MONTHS OF COLLECTING DUST!  
Yes, most of the future chapters will be this short.**

**Hopefully, when I get to the song chapters, Little Kuriboh will see this and make the next Evil Council Video based off of this song.**

**This fanfic will be one of those that I'll only update when I have time and I feel like it. So don't expect regular updates. But at the same time, now that this story has FINALLY been started, I'll start paying more attention to it now. I actually have at least three chapters more chapters planned and typed out for this already! (There will be MORE than 4 chapters; I'm just saying that I only have the next 3 typed out on my iPod on a Note that has also been collecting dust.)**

**The songfic chapter is in three chapters from now! So in chapter 4!**

**See you next chapter!**

**BYEEEEEEEEEE~!**


	2. Two Councils

**Warning: This chapter will be short. Most chapters will be this short (except for song chapters). And most chapters WILL have 2 sections like this. One for Marik, one for Bakura.**

**I'll try to keep ANs short to make things less confusing. And trust me, by chapter 6 something VERY confusing will have happened ;)**

_I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series, the song "Remember When (Push Rewind)", or any of the characters/trademarks in those._

**R&R**

**ENJOY~!**

* * *

And so, this is how, after going through a very particularly boring and unproductive council meeting, even for M's ECoD, Marik found himself standing at the entrance to an open-mic bar.

He didn't usually drink unless he was at a boring party and wanted to create a (usually fail) drinking game for him and Ba— erm...for himself... But he was pretty stressed out about how fail the meeting just was, still feeling guilty about...someone...and upset about something else, so he decided that a drink or two wouldn't hurt.

He had no idea how he got there, besides the idea that it might have been Melvin's doing, so he suspected that his evil alter ego was to blame. Nonetheless, he decided to go inside.

* * *

_**About 5 minutes later...**_

* * *

And so this is how, after another boring and difficult to understand yet musical D's ECoD, Bakura found himself in front of an open-mic bar.

The last time he went to a bar was when he took part in another one of Ma— erm...someone's fail drinking game. He didn't usually drink because he found that not only did it stir up Ryou's British Rage, but he also didn't feel like it. But now, after such a stressful meeting and with someone still on his mind and heart, he needed a drink or two.

He had no idea how he got there, but had a memory lapse similar to the ones he used to make Ryou have, so he suspected that his hikari had been sleepwalking or something. Nonetheless, he decided to go inside.

* * *

**Since this chapter was so short, I'll try to put up the next chapter tonight instead of this Saturday.**

**The songfic chapter is in two chapters from now! Meaning chapter 4!**

**See you next chapter!**

**BYEEEEEEEEEE~!**


	3. Two Thieves

**Here's your second chapter of the night!**

**There's a reason why I put up 2 short chapters instead of just combining them into 1 regular-sized chapter...**

_I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series, the song "Remember When (Push Rewind)", or any of the characters/trademarks in those._

**R&R**

**ENJOY~!**

* * *

He sat in a dark corner, wearing his Rare Hunter cape and trying to look evil and intimidating. As per his habit whenever he went somewhere new, Marik activated his Millenium Rod's Steve Finder and searched the room for Steves. He was pleased to find exactly two on two opposite sides of the room: a waitress and some guy who had passed out on his girlfriend's lap. But the satisfied feeling didn't last long and his mood sank a moment later.

What was bugging him was that something had gone wrong yet again. Teddy and Zork had gotten in an argument and started fighting with their weird powers. It had escalated to the point that Teddy had opened up a portal to hell by accident(?) and the portal entered the Shadow Realm, so Zork had started bitching to Teddy about it, but to Marik as well even though it wasn't his fault. Now, Teddy (and Rebecca) and Zork were pissed off at each other. Marik had had no idea how to fix it because he didn't have experience with the Dark forces inside the Shadow Realm; only the ones in his Millenium Item. But what was _really_ bothering him was that the person who _would_ have known what to do and how to fix the issue... Well that person hadn't been there. He had been in a meeting with a different council.

The stage that gave the open-mic bar its open-mic status was empty. To fill the silence, some random piano music was playing that Marik didn't bother to pay any attention to.

But he couldn't help but notice the two lone microphones up on stage...

* * *

_**Meanwhile, across the bar...**_

* * *

He sat in a dark corner, wearing his sexy trench coat and trying to look evil and intimidating. As per pure instinct whenever he went anywhere new, Bakura activated his Millenium Ring's Millenium Gaydar. All five points stood up on end and pointed at one person or another. (The middle one pointed at himself, as usual. Ryou had to teach him how to make it stop doing that; because of that, he could never identify more than four gay people or Millenium Items at a time.) He let it deactivate, not caring about a single one of them.

He had been surprised to learn that the "somewhere under the ocean" that the council meeting place was at was close enough to Egypt that the council members could stay in a hotel there. Bakura didn't understand why Dartz didn't just make an underwater hotel. During the meeting, Alister and Valon had been instructed to mock 5D's by playing a card game on their motorcycles. The result was that Johnny Stepz had to play a two-turn card game in order to use his dance machine from now on, and neither Alister nor Valon would say the word "card" within 20 feet of any type of vehicle for the next year. At the time, Bakura had thought that there was only one person who could pull it off and _not_ look like they were from or mocking 5D's... But that person hadn't been there. He had been dealing with his own evil council.

The stage that gave the open-mic bar its reputation as such was empty. To replace the silence coming from it, random piano music was playing that Bakura couldn't be bothered to care about.

But he couldn't help but notice the two lone microphones up on stage...

* * *

**The songfic chapter is next! Stay tuned!**

**See you next chapter!**

**BYEEEEEEEEEE~!**


	4. Parody One

**THIS IS WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR! THE EPIC SONG CHAPTER THAT IS SURE TO BE TOTALLY SUPERSPECIALAWESOME!**

**I had WAY too much fun writing the lyrics for this chapter. I hope you have just as much fun reading them! I suggest that you put the song on repeat in a separate tab (if ur not on a mobile device and can do that) for the effect. Preferably the instrumental.**

**HAVE FUN!**

_I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series, the song "Remember When (Push Rewind)", or any of the characters/trademarks in those._

**R&R**

**ENJOY~!**

* * *

Marik was starting to eye the empty stage. The microphones had caught his interest and just wouldn't let go of it. Every nerve in his body was screaming to his instincts, "GO UP THERE AND SING!" But Marik told his instincts not to listen. The last time he sang in public was...

_No! Have to forget about him! He left. He doesn't care. So neither should I!_

But then his instincts somehow got drunk and started listening to his nerves. Then his instinct (or perhaps something else?) took over his brain and he found himself walking over to the person in charge of the music.

He was Marik freaking Sebatsian Ishtar III. He could listen to a song completely foreign to him (as long as he could speak the language it was in) and improvise his way into a kick-ass parody performance that would surely win American Idol if he were to be on the show.

He took a $20 bill out of his pocket and held it out to the guy person.

The guy looked up expectantly, a hint of recognition in his eyes that Marik didn't pay any mind to.

"Please tell me you don't want any specific song played." he asked Marik.

"I don't," Marik said to him. "I want you to play an instrumental version of any song you have there. It doesn't matter what. As long as its lyrics are in English, Egyptian, Japanese, or British."

The guy's eyes lit up. "So you're going to sing?!" he asked excitedly.

"No DUH!" Marik murmured, almost in a controlled slur. "Yes I'm going to sing. You got a problem with that?"

"No. Not at all. I have the perfect song for you!"

The music guy smiled wide and took the money. Then he got the song ready and prepared to play it. He eagerly motioned for Marik to get on stage.

Marik did so. A few people looked up, a bit curious now that someone was actually going to get up and take the open mic.

The music started.

Marik had litterally exactly five seconds to react. And how he reacted was this: he recognized the song as one that described his situation perfectly, he was glad that Bakura—as well as no one either of them knew—wasn't there, and he knew exactly how he was going to make up the lyrics.

The lyrics to a parody of the song "Remember When (Push Rewind)".

* * *

~•~

* * *

Out of the corner of his eye, Bakura saw someone get on stage, but didn't care who it was.

Then he heard music starting. A warp-like sound faded in. Bakura recognized the song. It was "Remember When (Push Rewind)". He had heard it once before and had decided that he never wanted to hear it again. He was about to cover his ears when whoever had decided to get on stage started singing.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"I'm sitting in my empty tomb  
"With a broken heart"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

Bakura recognized the voice. And those lyrics weren't the right ones. It could only be one person.

He picked up his head and looked.

His eyes widened, he stopped breathing for a moment, and his heart skipped a beat. The glass he was holding slipped from his hand and fell to the floor, shattering alone with no one to watch. They were all too focused on the purple-robed Egyptian that had just started singing.

Marik Sebastian Ishtar.  
(The III.)

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Thinking to myself, 'What have I done?'"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

How? How could Marik be here, in this place, with him, at the same time?! How?! It was too much of a coincidence. Why was he up there, singing? Singing a song that could perfectly descirbe their situation? Singing without him?

Singing..._to_ him?

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Cuz as our hatred got bright  
"It started losing light"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

"Hatred..." Bakura muttered. He remembered...

_"I hate you. I hate you more than I've ever hated anybody. I hate you so much that I can barely take it. In fact I want to go on hating you for the rest of my life."_

Only Bakura and the fangirls (and maybe Melvin and Ryou) knew what he had truly meant by that. But now...?

Marik had let him leave. In fact, at the last moment Marik had _ENCOURAGED_ and _ACCEPTED_ it. Marik was the _reason_ he had left.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"And I couldn't see that you were the one"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

Marik was the reason he wanted to come back. Marik was the reason that he was here. Marik was the one he should be helping...not just with the council, but with this... This... This what?

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"So can we..."  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

_No! No I don't care! I'm done with him! I'm over! There's only so much playful arguing and idiocy I can take. He was holding me back._

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"...push push push rewind  
"Go go back in time  
"When we stole cards and Millenium Items"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

"No..." Bakura murmured. "I..."

_Come on! Do it!_ a certain person though hopefully.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Please please please come back..."  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

"No..." he breathed. He didn't know how to react...

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"...Bakura come back  
"Back to my council!"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

Bakura suddenly knew what to do.

~•~

Marik continued singing straight from the heart.

Everything he wanted to say to Bakura, to whom he insisted time after time that he was straight and that he loved him but wasn't _in_ love with him and would totally give his Rod to him if he didn't need it for the Steves, came out in his alternated lyrics to the song "Remember When (Push Rewind)".

He heard this song a while back, back before Bakura had left. And he had heard the song on the radio two days after he left. Because of the slow progress they were making, Marik had to change the meetings from annually to monthly. But that had only served to make things worse and make it even more obvious how he couldn't really control a council of idiotic unwilling non-Steve morons month after month.

The only thing that could make anything worse was if he actually _saw_ the Limey Bastard again. If he did, he would be willing to dive into the world of Hetalia and ask Tony to tell Bakura what he was.

But he missed the Brit. No matter how much of a killjoy or a degrader or a critic he could be, Marik 'hated' Bakura more than he let on.

So this song was a welcome release for him.

_I'm so glad Bakura isn't here_, he managed to think while still singing his version of the song, moving a bit to the words and rhythm (and also to the alcohol).

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Do you remember when we met in the alley  
"And when you said 'I don't care' to me  
"Remember when we stole the Pharaoh's pants  
"And did that weird Michael Jackson dance"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

Somewhere in the room, two people facepalmed. One of them...was...

Marik smiled as he remembered both of those things. Both meeting in the alley, and stealing the Pharaoh's leather pants while singing that Lady Gaga song parody. Parodies were their thing. But not this one...

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Two villains flying so high"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

Time for his favorite line of the song.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Yeah, partners in crime."  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

Bakura probably thought that Marik didn't remember this part or registered it... But he _did_ register it...

_"We should be partners."_

_"You mean like partners in crime?"_

_With an eyeroll, Bakura said sarcastically, "Yeah. That's precisely what I meant."_

But Marik knew _exactly_ what Bakura had really meant.

He also knew what Bakura had meant when he said that he "hated" him.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Why did you ever say goodbye?  
"Remember when we, when we HAD IT ALL!"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

_"Missed me?"_

Marik almost didn't sing the next line. Instead, he turned his head to the person he now shared the stage with, who had just grabbed the microphone next to Marik and held it near his mouth as if to sing, and who had just spoken to him through the mind link that Marik had created with the Millenium Rod years ago and forgot still even existed. He wore his sexy and intimidatingly evil black trench coat and his hair was still as Fluffy as ever.

Bakura.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Do you remember when?"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

* * *

~•~

* * *

He had somehow managed to walk onstage without tripping over or bumping into anyone or anything, despite his mind's lack of say in the actions of his feet (and also despite the alcohol). And it wasn't the alcohol that pushed his mind out of the driver's seat of his body: it was his instincts.

(One can arguably reword that and simply say that his brain has taken backseat to his _heart_ in controlling his body, but remember that Bakura doesn't have one of those ;) .)

And now he was onstage. Next to his former partner (unfortunately, _only_ in crime and singing). About to sing as much from the "heart" (remember that he doesn't really have one!) as Marik just had.

Bakura decided to get his attention by talking to him through the mind link they had created back in Battle City. After briefly activating his Millenium Ring to activate the mind link, he spoke. "Missed me?"

Marik turned to him and his eyes widened just before he sang the next line. He gave the spirit a look that asked "what the hell are you doing here?"

Bakura answered his incredulous look with a smirk and a wink.

Marik looked away and sang the line "Do you remember when".

Show time!

Marik looked like he was about to sing the next lines, but Bakura cut him off by singing for him. He was just as good as Marik was at creating parodies on the spot.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Hope I didn't lose my seat, which is at your side  
"I guess that I just want you to know"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

Bakura couldn't keep it together staring at Marik, so he turned to their audience as he sang the next lines.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Oh how I miss your sexiness, your Rod and midriff  
"Why the bugger did I let you go?"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

Bakura turned to Marik again. The Egyptian was blushing. Bakura could feel himself blushing as well.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"So can we...  
"Push push push rewind  
"Go go back in time  
"Like how I cheated in Season 5"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

He looked Marik in the eyes. The hand that Marik held his microphone in—which he had removed from its stand—had dropped to his side and he was staring in wonder at Bakura. Bakura also removed his microphone from its stand.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Take take take me back...  
"...Marik, take me back  
"Back to your council!"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

_I am _so_ glad that no one I know is here_, Bakura thought gladly. _Besides Marik, of course._

_Especially Melvin and Ryou_, he added.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Do you remember when my gaydar led me to you  
"And you insisted it wasn't true  
"Remember when we went to that weird town  
"It's funny how all of that went down"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

He did _dare_ say the name of the town. In truth, what had _really_ occurred in "Censored" town was a lot different than what had occurred in the fanfic.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Two villains flying so high  
"Yeah partners in crime"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

He loved that line. That line was what made the song so perfect for them. The words alone "partners in crime" practically made this song their theme song.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Why did I ever say good bye?  
"Remember when we, when we had it all"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

He looked over at Marik again, who was still staring at him with wide and surprised eyes. But he could see the gears turning in his head as Marik tried to think of the next line. Bakura smirked. Of course, singing a song is the only thing that Marik could ever waste any brain cells on to think of something brilliant for.

It gave Bakura an idea that he would share later if this went well.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Do you remember when?"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

* * *

~•~

* * *

Marik had watched Bakura singing next to him in awe, shock, and...something else. Here he was, after all this time, casually doing a parody with him like nothing had happened months ago.

Marik could tell that Bakura was enjoying himself _and_ enjoying the reaction he got out of him. Why was he doing this?

But all he had time to think of now was the next line.

Bakura noticed the look in Marik's eyes. A silent message passed between them and they both instantly knew how to finish this song off.

Duet.

Bakura sang "Do you remember when".

Marik stepped in to sing.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Can't get you out my head"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

Then Bakura sang the next line.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Can't keep you out my dreams"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

They sang the next part together, at the same time.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Holding on to what we used to be  
"And I can't let you go  
"The fangirls would hate us  
"Us us us us us us us us us us..."

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

They sang the "us's" by alternating at first and then singing in unison to create the effect that no lone person could create for this song.

They continued singing together.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Push push push rewind  
"Go go back in time  
"To when we were simply partners in crime"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

They each sang one of the next two lines.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Marik, take me back"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Bakura, come back"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

Then together once again:

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
To our Evil Council of Doom!  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

The music guy did a DJ mix thing so that there was a pause of music between the previous line and the next one. Marik and Bakura used this to catch their breaths and quickly think of the next lines, which they somehow agreed on without actually mentally communicating again.

o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`  
"Do you remember when we... Met in the alley  
"And we became best friends instantly  
"Remember when we stole Kaiba's jet  
"Kidnapped Mokuba for the hell of it  
"Two villains flying so high  
"Yeah partners in crime  
"Why did we ever say good bye?  
"Remember when we, when we had it all!  
"Do you remember when?"  
o/` o/` o/` o/` o/`

* * *

The music ended, and for a moment, all was silent.

* * *

**HOW WAS THAT! Awesome, right?**

**Don't forget to watch my thiefshipping "Remember When" video on YouTube! you totally should. There are two version.**

**And guess what? There will be TWO songfic chapters!  
****This was the first. I won't tell you much about the second because it's a secret d-(^70)-b****  
**

**Next chapter, the reactions and stuffz!**

**See you next chapter!**

**BYEEEEEEEEEE~!**


	5. Two Reactions

**YAY CHAPTERRRRRRR~!**

**Nothing to really say. Just read and enjoy and stuff!**

_I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Abridged Series, the song "Remember When (Push Rewind)", or any of the characters/trademarks in those._

**R&R**

**ENJOY~!**

* * *

They stood there quietly, finally remembering their audience. A moment later, that audience (the conscious part of it, at least) started applauding and cheering, not having seen such an awesome performance in that place in like a long time.

Marik and Bakura exchanged glances and smiled automatically.

What few fangirls they had (like 2) in this particular place threw a single rose at the guy they idolized. Bakura winked at his and she fainted. Perfect for when he planned to erase her memory later.

Marik just smiled and waved at his adoring new fans. He would be sure to sort out the Steves later. For now, he had a fangirl in this place that would do his bidding regardless of her name.

They turned to each other again and their smiles faded. They put the microphones back on their stands. In emotionless tones, they spoke to each other.

"Marik."

"Bakura."

"Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too."

"How's the council fairing without me?"

"Fine. Just fine. They miss you, but it's fine. How is Dartz's council?"

"Fine as well. Stupid crazy motorcycle accident almost killed Alister and Valon, but everything is going fine. By the way, they're pizza people, not taco people."

"Those frig-tards!"

"I know, right?"

They stood there silently, with both of them trying to keep their emotions in check. Somehow.

Bakura, surprisingly, faltered first. "Nice singing," he said to Marik. "Perfect parody as always."

"Erm... Thanks. You too, I gues—"

"Marik!"

"What?!"

"Did you um... Did you by any chance..." _Am I really going to do this?_ "...mean any of the lyrics?"

Marik's eyes widened and he blushed slightly. Then he averted his gaze. "I um...I..." Marik sighed and met Bakura's gaze with slightly saddened eyes. _No point in hiding it when he already knows the answer. It's so obvious..._ "Yes, Bakura. I meant every single word and I totally miss you. There I said it. But you probably already knew that. I don't care what you say, that's how I feel."

Bakura looked at Marik with a tiny hint of sadness in his eyes. "Marik... I'm—"

"But don't worry. I don't expect you to have meant your lyrics. After all, you _are_ the one who left. Nice to know you're doing fine without me."

Bakura's eyes widened. Did Marik seriously believe that he was making up his half of the lyrics? Seriously?! "But I said—"

As he spoke, Marik's face lost that sad look and it was replaced with hurt and anger. "I know you. You're just as good as I am at making up lyrics. And despite what you tell the rest of the world you're actually a great singer. Congratulations. But I know that you didn't mean a word you said. You would never say something like that in public if you meant it. So have fun with your new council, tell Dartz that I still hate him, and have fun eating pizza when you could have had as many free tacos as you wanted! And we are actually getting tacos; it's no longer just a lie to get people to join. Good bye, Florence."

Bakura's eyes widened and his mouth opened. Marik turned away and walked off the stage. "Marik wait I—"

But the Egyptian was already out of earshot.

* * *

~•~

* * *

Marik looked back and saw Bakura looking for him. Well too bad.

Marik stealthily pretended to leave the bar, but actually went to some empty corner table. He put his head down and put his hood over his head, hoping that no one would confront him.

Here he was, missing Bakura and singing his feelings out about how he felt about Bakura's leaving the council.

He sighed and thought, _And then the cause of my problems has to come in and ruin a perfectly good parody by making up lyrics and pretending to also feel bad. I saw how he acted when he left. He didn't look like he was doing what he had to do, but regretted it. He looked relieved. He just _loves_ messing with me, doesn't he? That's exactly why it's good that he's gone and I should just get over it._

Having admitted that to himself, that he should get over his former partner(-in-crime), Marik did something automatic and involuntary that he always did when he didn't want to deal with certain negative emotions. He shoved them off to a dark part of his mind, separate from his own personal darkness and evil. All of the emotions he didn't want to feel: regret mostly, but also sadness and longing, left him and went somewhere else.

Or rather...went to some_one_ else...

With those bothersome thoughts out of the way, Marik was able to focus on other things. Like those Steves.

Marik raised the Millenium Rod and activated it. Those two Steves were again brought to his attention. The waitress was now somewhere near him and the guy on his girlfriend's lap was no longer passed out but still on her lap. Marik briefly made contact with them and told them to meet him here tomorrow, so he could properly initiate them into the Rare hunters. Then he dropped contact with them.

He was far too exhausted to bother with them anymore.

So instead of messing with them further, Marik simply got up and snuck out of the bar, before anything could worsen his already-ruined mood.

* * *

~Meanwhile, back onstage...~

* * *

Bakura watched Marik walk offstage and sighed. His heart sank. He had just confessed his feelings to Marik and said that he regretted leaving. But Marik didn't believe him.

Then he remembered that he'd had an audience. He frowned at them and blushed. He didn't like the fact that total strangers had just witnessed a small part of his (probably non-existent) love life. Not to mention that there was a chance that he might be recognized for whatever reason. He suddenly became very paranoid of these people and what they had just seen.

Without thinking it through, he reached for the Millenium Ring. He was about to activate its memory-erasing abilities, but something stopped him. Something in that room, or maybe some_one_?, didn't want him to do it. And possibly that same thing or person was someone he didn't _want_ to erase the memory of. He couldn't do it.

Then, of their own accord, his legs started carrying him off of the stage before he could push away the voice of reason telling him not to resort to using Shadow Magic. He panicked a bit, but let his legs move him back to his seat.

When he was seated, he freaked out internally. _What just happened?! What stopped me? What moved me? I swear when I find it who I'm going to hurt him._ He was fairly certain that it was a he (or was it? lolz).

"Hey, Bakura."

Bakura turned his attention to the person who had walked up to him. "What do you want?" Bakura automatically asked the stranger, who had probably gotten his name from the lyrics. He kept talking, using his most evil and intimidating voice. "I suggest you watch what you say to me, mortal. Do not give me a reason to add you to my ever-growing list of victims who have been forced to spend all of eternity suffering and fading away in total darkness and pain."

"Yeah yeah that's nice and all." The guy slid into the seat next to him. Bakura examined him. In terms of hair color, eye shape, and skin color, he looked like Marik. But other than those things, there was no resemblance. The guy had short almost shoulder-length hair tied into a side ponytail and hiding his ears, dark eyes, and wore a simple tight black tank top and black jeans the same color. He was even more built than Marik. In fact, one could say that this guy was sexier than Marik. _If that's even possible_, Bakura thought with a mental laugh. But he didn't care. "So, I liked your performance back there with that other guy. Seems sad."

"Shut up," Bakura muttered.

"You should totally apologize to your girlfriend. Seems like he misses you and stuff."

"Shut up," Bakura repeated, a bit louder this time.

"Hey, I'm just saying. If you don't hook back up, at least request a spot reserved for you onstage sometime this week. You two sound great together. You can totally produce evil music. Pretty powerful stuff."

_Just like what Dartz always said._

"Shut up. I don't care. Bugger off. And shut up." Bakura put his head down on the table and hoped the other guy would go away.

"What? It's so obvious that you wan—"

"Nope. You're mistaken. I don't care anymore."

Both he and Marik were the type to hold grudges. That was made obvious by their obvious hatred for the same person. True, Marik's hatred hadn't lasted as long as Bakura's had, but that was only because he hadn't been alive as long. But he could still hold a grudge just as good as Bakura could. _So if he doesn't want me back, then I won't ask to be taken back. Simple. He thinks I've moved on, so I might as well do just that. From now on, I don't care._

"So piss off before I hurt you."

The guy frowned, then walked away. Bakura didn't watch him go.

He slammed his head down against the table and groaned loudly.

He heard music start up again. His heart skipped a beat, and he shot up out of his seat in a panic. Someone was on stage!

But it was some random stranger, not Marik. Perhaps the performance he and Marik put on had encouraged others to perform?

He didn't care.

He sat back down. He picked up a nearby glass and took a sip of whatever the hell was in it.

"Hey pal," the guy next to him said, in Egyptian. "That's mine."

Bakura gave him the evilest death glare he could manage. "I don't care."

The guy paled a bit and backed off. "Right...it's yours now. You need it after that epic performance..."

Bakura frowned and looked away from him, down at his newly acquired drink. He took another sip.

He heard footsteps approaching him from behind. He turned his head to the side slightly so he could look behind him out of the corner of his eye.

He didn't even register the person's appearance or give himself time to care about trying to care. He didn't want to interact with any mortals right now.

Bakura pushed himself and his chair away from the table a foot or two and stuck out his foot, in the path of the approaching person. The person walked closer still, totally ignoring Bakura.

Then, he tripped over Bakura's leg...

...falling face-first into the mess of broken glass that had once contained Bakura's previous drink.

The moment Bakura drew his leg back and pulled himself close to the table again, so as not to draw suspicion, the guy had started screaming in pain. When he pushed himself off the floor and picked his head up, Bakura could clearly see glass shards lodged into his skin.

_Instant mood improvement_, Bakura thought with a snicker.

Bakura then immediately silently stood up and stealthily snuck his way to the back entrance of the bar, without being spotted by a single person, then swiftly slipped out of the bar before something could ruin what little improvement had been done to his mood.

He would never come back there ever again.

* * *

**Oh NOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS~!**

**Don't worry. Whether they want to or not, they'll go back. Trust me.**

**But don't worry about that for now. For now, let's worry about the next chapter. Which takes place in each thieves' respective hotel rooms!**

**And guess what! It's one of the chapters I haven't written yet!**

**See you next chapter!**

**BYEEEEEEEEEE~!**


End file.
